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Lotte on fire
I hadn’t seen proper highlights of the match until late last night. Of course, while you’re watching the game there are things you focus on and others you miss. I usually fixate on my favorite players and sometimes I focus on opposition players, other times I focus on off the ball movement etc etc etc.
When it comes to defending, if Leah and Katie are in the squad, that’s who I’m mostly focusing on and due to the fact that Lauren James was playing, I figured that Emily Fox was the person to watch. BTW what a match by her and I was shocked she didn’t get POTM.
But as I was saying, having watched the highlights I have to say that LWM had a monster game. As someone who has been critical of her, or more praising of other players, I have to say that I was very impressed by her, and if you’re one of her big fans, I love that she put in that display. I also love it for the club, for the players, and most of all I love it for her.
If there is one thing that I have never ever questioned is Lotte’s commitment, love for the club, and effort. She always gives it her best and my favorite thing about her is how emotional she is, in good times and in not so good too. She always says amazing things and to me its no wonder that Sarina picks her even if she doesn’t play her. She is so empathetic and emotionally intelligent. I admire that more than anything.
A lot of people misunderstood what I said yesterday regarding Jonas wanting to instill a winning mentality. Even if LWM hadn’t won 2 Conti cups, there is no way in hell that I would ever believe that she doesn’t have a winning mentality. Which is different than actually winning something. Let’s just say that you play amazingly well but the ref calls 2 PKs against you unfairly, the other team score and beat you, and that’s on the fa cup final…. you don’t have a winning mentality because of that? etc etc etc.
Lotte is a winner and so is the rest of the squad. You behave like what you want to become, that’s just one of the things that works in music and in life.
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Did I just hear him say that?
Talk about not learning my lessons over and over… I made the mistake of listening to the post match comments made by Jonas and I regret it. First of all, I don’t think it’s a mistake or that nobody should listen to him. I just know myself and know that listening to some of the things he says and how he says them, make me feel a certain way.
In an interview he said that he wanted to, and I’m paraphrasing, instill a winning mentality at the club.
Umm……
The girls ALREADY have a winning mentality, we have players with a winning mentality, we have players that have won World Cups, Euros, WSL titles, FA Cups, leagues in many different countries, etc etc etc.
The DNA of Arsenal Women Football Club is to win and have a winning mentality. Hell, even the players that leave end up winning massive things too.
So, even though I kinda understand what he means, it rubbed me the wrong way. Also, you can want this to be a thing but you have to do it, and losing 4 matches and not knowing what to do against low block teams isn’t a matter of if the players have a winning mentality or not.
I didn’t think his comments were tactful and honestly made it all about himself at that moment for me.
Good to know Frida is doing well and also that Leah is training with the lionesses.
Lastly, not sure what match whomever chooses POTM was watching but to not give it to Emily Fox was criminal.
Anyway, I chat about the match and lots more here
d ❤
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Happy for MAnu mostly
You obviously don’t need me to tell you this but I have to say that being a GK is one of the most unforgiving and toughest positions to play in all sports, if nothing else for the amount of abuse you receive from YOUR OWN supporters… I encourage you all to read that last bit again because it doesn’t make any sense as a matter of fact.
This season, the amount of crap she has had to endure, from her own fans, opposing fans, the press, the idea of Mary Earps coming, etc etc etc, this woman has stood firm and optimistic and kept her head down and literally saved us time and time again.
We have read so many times how this or that player “saved us” this season which if you’re not referring to Kim Little, Lia Walti, Katie McCabe or Manu, then I will kindly suggest you actually open your eyes and judge objectively and not with your will to want X player to be good. These are the players that have actually and literally kept us where we are, and Manu was able to save the one shot from the one player that everyone banked to score.
It was an unreal save in the most important of moments that I felt swung the momentum our way and gave us the belief that we needed to go on and win the cup, which Manu herself believes, to her very core, that it was a cup that belonged to the fans.
I will chat more about this and the whole Jonas/Hayes incident which I know the whole community has thoughts on, and mine exist and they have also changed a few times. Said pod should be available in about 5 hours if not less.
Overall, as much as the team isn’t performing how I think they should, I’m so very happy for the entire team, staff and club as a whole. A trophy is a trophy and it adds to our pedigree, our history and those of the players.
I’m so very proud and happy for all.
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Back 2 Back
I’m so happy for the girls! A weird and disappointing season has been thrown a lifeline due to their hard work, grit and determination. The performance itself, tactics and all that is irrelevant and I’m not going to get into that at all.
Without a doubt the most important thing is the health situation of Frida and honestly that’s the only thing that matters. To be fair I would’ve been OK if the match would’ve been canceled or postponed. That was scary and of course came out of nowhere. I went to get a glass of water and then it was all silent…
BTW The commentator person was terrible honesty and whoever has that duck call thing should be banned for life. Holy hell was that absolutely terrible to listen to even from my house.
My biggest takeaway is that we won against Chelsea, just because they were the next opponent. I don’t know if that makes any sense… I don’t think there was a mental hurdle to overcome, because at not point have I EVER doubted the mentality of any of the players not individually and certainly not collectively.
I just wanted the girls to keep winning, regardless of the competition, the result and the way they did it, but that has to be addressed and of course it falls on one person and one person only.
I’m hesitant to compliment the manager because I think the girls pulled off this win because of THEM and not because of anything he did. But, he won the game and of course there is merit to that. Again, he celebrated this match, like the villa one, as if his life depended on it…
Oh and I thought he had actually pushed Cuthbert from what I read on Twitter, which I’m glad wasn’t the case. I also have zero issues with Emma Hayes reacting how she reacted. I’m not in the business of telling women what to do or how. She’s the goat and of course that doesn’t mean everything she says is ok, but I’m not gonna sit here and say I have an issue whatsoever.
I was very glad to see Reiten on the bench because I’m scared of how good she is and sure its great to beat teams at full strength but I wasn’t interested in that today and the narrative that a win is less great if its not against a full side let me tell you… we aren’t a full side so people can leave that alone.
A couple of weeks off for the girls now, which they need and deserve but we all know that is only related to Arsenal, as most of them go on international duty.
Smiles all around, specially for Frida.
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Play Katie as CDM + Conti Final Preview
Less that 24 hours ago I was writing here about how I need to focus on the positive things and then I heard Jonas talk about how only teams that spend a lot of money win the champions league… So, I’m going to stick to my plan and basically not mention anything about that comment which I actually think is a massive red flag and extremely disrespectful to our players because he basically said: Hi girls! you’re never winning the CL until we spend way more… never mind your talent and drive and determination.
Anyway… bigger fish to fry and all that… Let’s chat about our only chance of silverware aka the Conti Cup.
Finals are always stand alone games where the old cliche that “form goes out the window” truly applies. But there is one thing that defies logic, that defies laws and cliches… and that is the added value that is having Emma Hayes as your manager, and sadly for us we don’t have her.
With that said, we have beaten her multiple times and I have no doubt that we could beat her tomorrow except that we are missing Lia Walti, whose absence has literally deprived me of sleep the past week.It’s honestly very difficult to look past that specially because we just don’t have the players off the bench that come close to her. She’s a Rolls Royce.
The girls will be up for this more than we can imagine. This match being what a lot of people see as a way to rescue the season, and I have full confidence that their attitude, as always, will be on point and they’ll want to win that trophy back to back, but if you think this is good enough for the players, I can guarantee you that is NOT the case.
It goes without saying that our manager will not do any of this, but this lineup would be good. I think we need to have Kim and Katie as our midfielders. Not only because we need Katie on that pitch at all times but because its unexpected and she can more than handle the occasion and the position.
I’m not saying this is the way forward or that this will make us world beaters but we have all seen what she can do for Ireland, basically playing freely and wherever she wants and I think giving her the keys to the kingdom, against this opposition is just the most logical thing.
Anyway, this is what I would like to see, regardless if it “would work” or not because we won’t know if it works unless we try it.
As far as a prediction I actually truly, in my core, have no idea what will happen but I keep having a vision of Steph Catley scoring, so that might mean numerous things and if it means the winning penalty then so be it.
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Happy bday to this blog!!!!!
Time has absolutely flown by… I actually cannot believe that I’m about to type that today marks my blog #365 and give and take a couple of days here and there I have been able to keep my promise and I have posted EVERY SINGLE DAY for a year.
The first thing I have to say is that I’m very grateful to you all for reading, commenting and sharing it on twitter and elsewhere. It really means a lot and I have such a wonderful experience every single day seeing where people are reading from and how you’re able to find this blog from countries all over the world, no rhyme or reason it seems. Incredibly touching and I’m moved.
Overall, I created this space to focus on the positive side of things. To build up players, to be funny, to try to talk about serious topics related to women’s rights, football, sexism and all kinds of things. I haven’t been successful always both in the way in which I’ve expressed certain things and I have also gone pretty hard on a few players and the manager recently. And, even if I were to qualify my criticism as me being “realistic” I realize that I’m being too harsh and is not positive, which its the opposite reason as to why I started the blog in the place, so I’m gonna try my best to focus on the positives, without lying to myself or misleading you just because I know people from the club read this.
One thing I’ve learned for sure is that YOU NEVER KNOW WHO IS READING, so I need to keep myself accountable and open, and serious and respectful. So if you’re thinking about being part of the content landscape for AWFC or women’s football, regardless of the club, know that you will have ears and eyes that you might’ve never imagined. And I’m not saying that you should censor yourself or anything like that, just to make sure you’re doing your part to be a person that adds value and positivity and love and respect above just expressing an opinion to get clicks and likes.
There have been times when I’ve been very bummed that nobody read this. I felt I needed lots of readers and that not having them meant that I wasn’t a good writer (which I still think, and I’m just doing this for fun), but I’ve learned I need to treat this like art. Not because I think its artistic but because it doesn’t matter how many people it reaches as long as ONE person is impacted in some way.
Last thing I’ll mention, tooting my own horn loud and proud, is that I’m very proud of myself for not only making the commitment but following through and this has also kickstarted my commitment and pro active attitude towards a few things that I cannot wait to tell you all about.
I want to thank the women that inspire aka the entire AWFC past and present, and future, but also Sophie Nicolaou, Shebahn Aherne, Caroline Barker, Suzy Wrack, Laura Woods, Lianne Sanderson, and more without whom I would not even want to try to do this.
Love you all and thank you so much.
Here’s to 365 more.
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Sign Horan and co.
There are a few players that I would like to sign for our midfield specifically but there is something about Horan that screams: GET HER NOW. Most likely its the fact that beyond being a winner, a total winner at that, she is an Arsenal fan and would play her goddamn heart off.
A lot of you think I’m American, but I am actually not. I’m Venezuelan yet I am an American by choice and now a citizen. All this so say that I have never been a supporter of the USWNT honestly in the sense that I don’t really follow them and if they were to play, like it has happened before, the team I actually support aka the oranjeleeuwinnen, I will also root against them. That’s just a fact. Sorry, not sorry.
With that said, I LOVE their players. It’s so amazing to see year after year the insane talent that they produce in a country where football will never be as big as other sports, yet they churn out incredible players. And in the defense of smaller nations, literally smaller, the USA is massive and it makes sense there’s a much larger pool to choose from, in theory.
Anyway, the point is that signing a player like Horan would be an incredible thing. Just imagine that strength, fluidity and winning mentality that she would bring. It makes so much sense and I’m sure she would love to play not just for Arsenal as a club, but with the current players we have, and will only have for a couple years more.
Up to the powers that be, but if we’re really serious about the future we need ready made players and not just players with potential, which ironically everyone is obsessed with but if the manager isn’t getting the best out of world class players, do you really think he will do that with up and coming players?
I personally doubt it.
d ❤
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We’re built for the CL
I’m so very jealous of Benfica and Ajax. As much as I am tempted to say that “it should be us” playing today, that is just not the reality, but I wanna say it since it’s what I think. Regardless of if we deserve it or not, I am here now saying that I truly feel we should be there.
I truly believe we are a much, much better team than Ajax and even Benfica, with the utmost respect to both teams. But that’s not how it works, right? The teams that are there deserve to be there.
“On paper” we’re better than a lot of squads and that’s sort of what I’m trying to say, without trying to minimize the other teams because it would mean minimizing players, which would mean mining women and that is not something I ever want to even come close to doing.
But… it should be us haha.
Kim Little, Vivianne Miedema, Beth Mead, Leah Williamson, Lia Walti, Katie McCabe, Alessia Russo, Steph Catley, Stina Blackstenius… if that is not a Champions League worthy squad, then I don’t know what is.
It just bums me about that this season hasn’t been what our squad deserves and are capable of and I truly hope they get rewarded by making it to the group stages next season, because if nothing else, they bring so much joy to our lives that we need that for THEM. Not us as fans, THEM.
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I’m still not over Jordan leaving
I like to think that I’m a person who knows when to let go but the moment I’m confident about that, I remember that Jordan Nobbs isn’t an AWFC player anymore and it just gives me an anxiety attack. To be perfectly honest I’m still not over DvD and Roord leaving, so Jordan being gone adds to that feeling of sadness and now with Jen Beattie gone, it’s just a lot to take and I’m very emo recently and that’s just where I’m at mentally and emotionally.
Of course, my only concern is the person’s well being and if Jordan felt she would be happier elsewhere I champion that for sure, yet it is still very strange to see her playing for another club and I thought I would get used to it but I just don’t, and I don’t ever see that being a thing that I’m neither used to nor OK with.
A lot of you don’t agree but I don’t think we should’ve sold her. I think she could still add a LOT of value to the team and depth in that squad, similar to Jen and I’m not sure letting them go was the right decision, but only time will tell.
I’ve been very harsh on Jonas recently due to tactics but overall, if it was his decision to offload Jordan and Jen, I absolutely, categorically, have large issues with that, yet at the same time there has to be trust in that he knows what he is doing, but not coming from me only because I’m emotionally attached to these players.
No data behind this at all but I have a feeling that teams just wanna go younger and younger and I definitely think that isn’t the right move for several reasons. Among them is having the experience, poise and professionalism. Those things alone are worth exploring and always keeping around, for as long as possible.
I always LAUGH at people that said DvD was past it or wasn’t good enough for Arsenal… let me laugh again AHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHHAHHHAHHAH.
She’s being playing incredibly since she left and has won EVERYTHING. We still need her and players like her and I’ll die on that hill.
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We Needed That…
New podcast out now
d ❤
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A very subjective look into AWFC 